Gina Rinehart buys $8 million apartment block, names it after Ben Roberts-Smith
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, has spent $8.75 million on a 1960s block of units in a beachside suburb of Perth and named them after Ben Roberts-Smith.
The 23-bed complex on Scarborough Beach Road in Scarborough is now known as Ben Roberts-Smith Beach Houses, with large signage on the side of the two buildings that make up the property.
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, has spent $8.75 million on a 1960s block of units in a beachside suburb of Perth and named them after Ben Roberts-Smith. 9News
They were purchased in May as part of the mining magnate’s $200 million commitment to house veterans in need - some of whom have already moved in, 9News understands.
“The beach houses are in Scarborough, not far from the SAS, where Ben served, and carry the name of Ben Roberts-Smith VC, MG,” Rinehart said in a statement issued through her company Hancock Prospecting.
“He is a West Australian, former SAS soldier, who is looked up to by Australians across our country, and who served our nation with extraordinary courage.
“He is a hero.”
The 23-bed complex already has some veterans who have moved in. 9News
Rinehart has been a fierce supporter of the former SAS soldier, who is on bail accused of five war crimes including murder, allegations he denies.
The Victoria Cross recipient was born in Perth.
Roberts-Smith’s parents Len and Sue Roberts-Smith officially opened the northern suburbs accommodation, which sits a few streets back from the entertainment precinct and beachfront.
Roberts-Smith has been charged with five counts of war crime - murder after an extensive investigation. Nine
“Our son has been through so much, and our family knows deeply that the challenges faced by veterans and their loved ones do not end when their service does,” Len and Sue said in the statement.
“In many ways, it just begins. For many veterans, the hardest battles come long after they return home, and projects like this show them they have not been forgotten.”
It’s the first of Rinehart’s planned assistance to veterans, providing short and long-term accommodation.
They will be managed by Veteran Housing Australia.
More housing from Hancock Prospecting is set to open in south Perth next month.
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